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Virginia trooper killed in I-85 shooting, suspect identified

Thursday - 3/7/2013, 8:11pm EST

Trooper Junius Walker (Courtesy of Virginia State Police)

UPDATE - Friday - 3/8/2013, 5:10 a.m. ET - Russell E. Brown, 28, of
Chesterfield, Va., has been charged with capital murder of a police officer,
attempted capital murder of a police officer and two counts of using a firearm in
the commission of a felony. He is being held without bond.

Police say the incident began when Walker, the trooper, pulled up to a black sedan
stopped on the right shoulder of Interstate 85 to check on its driver. Police say
the driver opened fire, and Walker's patrol car ran off the road into the woods.

A passing motorist called 911, and police say a responding trooper saw Brown
firing into Walker's vehicle. The trooper reportedly exchanged gunfire
with Brown before the suspect fled into the woods. Brown was later found hiding at
an
area business and was taken into custody by Dinwiddie County Sheriff's deputies.

EARLIER - Friday - 3/8/2013, 3:12 a.m. ET - DINWIDDIE, Va. - A
Virginia State Police trooper was shot and killed
during a traffic stop off Interstate 85 Thursday and a suspect was arrested after
exchanging fire with another trooper, authorities said.

Walker, who was patrolling alone as most troopers do, called
for backup after being fired upon just before 1:30 p.m. in southeastern Virginia.
The second trooper arrived within two minutes and saw a male suspect firing into
Walker's marked police vehicle, which was down an embankment off the southbound
lanes of the interstate near the woods, Geller said.

The second trooper
fired at the suspect, who fled into the woods. He was found nearby and was
arrested before 2 p.m.

"We're trying to determine if there was a second
individual
involved," Geller said at a news conference near the scene in Dinwiddie County,
just south of Richmond.

Geller said authorities found a weapon and were
trying to determine if it was the one used in the shooting.

Gov. Bob
McDonnell said Walker was a 35-year veteran of the state police.

"Virginia's
public safety professionals are on the front lines every day protecting their
fellow citizens from harm and pursuing those individuals whose actions put others
in danger," McDonnell said. "These men and women are heroes who place their lives
on the line to protect their fellow Virginians."

McDonnell expressed
condolences to Walker's wife, two adult daughters and the rest of his family,
friends and colleagues.

"Virginia has lost a brave public servant and hero,"
McDonnell said.

Authorities shut down a section of Interstate 85 near the
45-mile marker where the shooting occurred, and Geller said it likely would be
closed for several hours. Southbound traffic was being detoured off at Exit 48.

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